My day on Luna 3205.

Back in the Uralian system, Speaker Lncn has had engineers and bots working overtime on the adaptations needed for Botslean to become the new Uralian homeworld. Two sealed settlement "bubbles" have been constructed to contain breathable air and safe water for the first wave of settlers. Luckily Botslean soil does not seem to be poisonous to Uralians or our plants.

Going from planet to planet - changes in water. food, gravity, air pressure - so many adaptations! All these can cause harm or discomfort to our bodies, not to mention our mental outlook.

It is almost impossible to believe the Leader had moved his followers to Botslean without constructing similar "bubble cities" to keep his followers safe. This omission on his part contributed to his downfall.

Lncn is determined not to repeat his mistakes.

Botslean actually has many advantageous traits making it fairly easy to transfer from the Uralian system to this new planet. The atmospheric chemistry is not too different from what would be ideal for Uralians, but it is sufficiently different that the Leader's followers had to wear breathing masks. That made life less pleasant than it could have been for those early settlers.

The Uralian Government has ordered and installed the same units (manufactured by the Xx) that the Ratihinaconaxemuwezo (experts in solving planetary atmospheric problems) use on their own planet to adjust their atmospheric chemistry. Botslean does not need the specific chemicals the Ratihinaconaxemuwezo are mining from Uralia2, so we will not be in competition for those resources. A good thing - we don't want to irritate the Ratihinaconaxemuwezo - they are too formidable as warriors for any planet to want to make them mad.

The "bubble cities" will be opened ("un-bubbled") when the planetary atmosphere is deemed safe and comfortable for Uralians. The new atmosphere must also be stable - a bunch of Uralians breathing in the carefully adjusted air then breathing out something different will have to be taken into account.

And the new atmosphere will actually remain attached to the planet. Critically, Botslean has a magnetosphere, so it is protected from stellar radiation. Its carefully-adjusted-to-meet-Uralian-standards (and, therefore, expensive) atmosphere that is being created will not be blown away by stellar winds.

After the detonation of nuclear weapons at the Leader's original settlements, the atmosphere is contaminated by radioactivity, mostly in the northern hemisphere where his settlements were, but as time has passed, some has spread to the southern hemisphere, too. Tests have shown this to be at "acceptable" levels, but, still...

Interestingly, the atmospheric adaptation units also seem to be able to clear much of the radiation from the atmosphere, so the new southern hemisphere settlements will be even safer. Eventually, the units may even clear the atmosphere for the entire planet.

The northern hemisphere, however, remains dangerous. Because the nuclear blasts occurred on the ground, surface radiation is severe. Radioactive isotopes of cesium and strontium will pose significant health risks for decades. Plutonium isotopes (having half-lives ranging from 6,000 to 240,000 years) would pose long-term chemical toxicity and contamination risks if disturbed or inhaled. Even coating these areas with SafeGuard would not contain the very dangerous gamma radiation, only the less dangerous radioactive alpha and beta particles.

We plan to avoid the northern hemisphere for the foreseeable future.

Water purification units have been installed in our two first settlement "bubbles." The water purification units are not complicated or expensive. It is hard to imagine why the Leader did not take care of this simple adaptation to make his disciples' lives better. I guess he was too busy with his war against those of us back in the Uralian system. And, of course, his palace HAD a water purification unit...

Transports to take Uralian migrants from (small, low gravity) moons and asteroids in the Uralian system to (approximately Earth gravity) Botslean have been orbiting the various Uralian settlement planetoids, increasing their spin rate a bit each day for months now, seeking to gradually replicate Botslean gravity. They stay near the Uralian settlements in case any health problems arise among the passengers.

The transports the Leader used to move Uralians to Botslean were not this slow and careful in their gravitational adaptation, and several older and more fragile Uralians died. Their hearts could not circulate their blood under higher gravity conditions. Lncn is being very careful not to make this mistake for our new wave of immigrants.

My kids, Jnysf and Srvrd are on the first transport just now accelerating out of the Uralian system for the trip to Botslean. This is their future - I wish them well.

My friend Representative Lzyrnl is on the second transport scheduled to leave for Botslean in about 100 days. She is eager to go, looking forward to the new world.

Dnhns and Judge Frdjkn were on a later scheduled transport but had to leave when Dnhns developed health problems. It seems her body cannot adapt to the higher gravity conditions, and they had to return to Lia4. Frdjkn is devastated - he keeps hoping there will be a new treatment, a new drug that will allow them to immigrate. Their daughter and her mate are still on the transport, and their parents are encouraging them to continue with their immigration plans. Botslean is the future; the next generation should be a part of that future, not the dying past of the Uralian system.

Clmntr and Lnbršr are still taking care of Clmntr's daughter on Lia5. She remains quite ill, and there is little hope she will be able to immigrate.

Speaker Lncn has "spoken": when we migrate to the new planet, it will be called "Botslean" and we will be called Botsleans (pronounced: bawt-slee-yuhns). She hopes this will eradicate the Uran vs Lian nonsense. After my investigations into Lunar prejudice, I fear she is being optimistic...

So, with this new edict, I will have to get the name on the Embassy changed (again!) and new name tags for Juan and Wan. First we were the Uralian Embassy, then the Lian Embassy, then the Uralian Embassy (again!) Now, we will be the Botslean Embassy. But, it will be worth it to actually be a representative from a PLANET, not a handful of moons and asteroids in a dying star system.

***

"BOT-slee-uhns?" Yaeyeia is trying out our new moniker. "Bawt-SLEE-yuns?"

"Close enough," I tell her.

We are in the Park on our favorite bench.

Kevin is also trying out the new name. He is better at it than Yaeyeia. I had no idea there were so many ways to mispronounce this word! But, then, my name is Ptsgbw. You would be amazed at the ways people mispronounce this simple name.

"When will your people be moved to the new planet?" asks Kevin.

I ignore the use of the word "people" to describe Uralians... uh... Botsleans. I know he means "sapients." "Most will be transferred within the next ten years. Not everyone will be able to transfer, or even want to go. We are moving much slower than the Leader did; he somehow managed to transfer his followers over a period of about two years - and regretted it in many ways."

"Of course, there were fewer of his followers than his detractors, I suspect," Yaeyeia hypothesizes.

"Initially, there were actually a small percentage more on his side. But, as time passed, his policies alienated some, and he carefully designated certain groups to be his enemies - any of his followers within those groups were forced to reconsider their allegiance. By the time of the transfer, about a third of all Uralians were his followers. And, of course, his policies on Botslean made his followers' allegiance less and less reliable... some actually returned to the Uralian system. And then his war on the Uralian system began to appear unwinnable - when the Ratihinaconaxemuwezo were attacked and joined our side - and his decisions appeared less and less infallible..."

"And more and more demented and CRAZY..." contributes Yaeyeia.

"I've never understood how he could destroy his own people... and himself..." Kevin sighs, shaking his head.

I have been thinking a great deal about this myself. Resettlement of Botslean has brought it all up again. "He did consider himself perfect. I think he just ignored things that didn't go as he expected, like the resettlement difficulties, and the war. But, he had to be worshipped; as the Uralians became more and more dissatisfied - with their lives on the new planet - and with him - he couldn't deal with no longer being "god" to them - to himself. And he had always been a solipsist - believing that only his own mind exists and that the external world is just a creation of that mind, not something that actually exists. So, by destroying himself he would, of course, be destroying all those "followers" who were no longer following him. Yet, by destroying them all with nuclear weapons, it gave him the satisfaction of actively destroying them, rather than merely passively destroying them by destroying himself. He could watch it happening."

Yaeyeia is skeptical. "I think he just enjoyed watching things go boom."

I agree. "He did enjoy booms."

Kevin asks, "Did he blow himself up last?"

I nod. "He destroyed the outer settlements first. The last to be detonated was his own palace."

Yaeyeia is still skeptical. "You'd better check to make sure he didn't have a bunker under the palace that he's still hiding in."

I smile sadly. "The Polaran bots found his bunker flattened under the palace."

Yaeyeia nods. "He probably was astonished that he killed himself."

"Aw... what a shame..." says Kevin. He has been around Yaeyeia too long. He is replicating her sardonic sense of humor.

***

Meanwhile, back on Luna, the New Princeton isolation is now complete. They have built an enclosed hallway around the outside edge of their City so that the remaining connected cities are still connected. There is no way for tunnel-travelers to enter New Princeton without having "permission papers" and going through "customs" - New Princeton is completely isolated. New Portland (M) and New Toronto are still constructing a tunnel to connect their cities directly. New DC and New Chicago, once allies with New Princeton, are assisting with tunnel construction, so it is progressing faster than anticipated and may be completed within 5 years.

Although New Princeton citizens are isolated from other Lunars, Ambassador Johnson is still attending Lunar Government meetings. He has no friends or allies in the Government; all of the other Ambassadors are shunning him. They suspect he attends merely to spy on what the Government is doing.

I have been passing on this information to Daniel Mizrahi at New Haifa. I think they should know what is going on in case it all spirals out of control. I guess I am THEIR spy!

I am attending another (and another and another) Lunar Government meeting in the tent on the parking lot of the (demolished) Smedley Center.

Reconstruction of the new Center is moving slowly. I'm sure it is moving as quickly as possible... but it still seems SLOW. They had to remove all of the debris before construction could begin, and that has only been completed recently.

AND, of course, no one can agree on the plans for the building - should it be the same as it was before the bombing (of COURSE not!), but HOW should it be different? 19 Ambassadors from the connected cities (plus Ambassador Johnson): 20 Ambassadors, 21 suggestions. No, now it's 22: Ambassador Kuznetsov of New Petrograd has changed his mind and added a new suggestion.

More and more meetings.

This is why everything moves slowly when governments are involved.

Ambassador Johnson suggests a dictator would make things happen quickly - immediately!

He gets no takers on that suggestion.

He would probably volunteer for the position!

My com is vibrating in my hand. Representatives Mrnpk and Jrčtr have a message marked: URGENT!

I open the message: "The Feyar have declared war on the Ratihinaconaxemuwezo." ARE THEY CRAZY??? The Feyar may be the species "running" the galaxy, but, as far as I know, they have never had a war with ANYBODY! And a sane species wouldn't want to initiate their war-experience with the Ratihinaconaxemuwezo!!

I hesitantly raise my hand. The Executive Ambassador Olsen leading the proceedings straightens. Heads turn. Everyone is surprised. The exos don't usually speak at Lunar Government meetings unless there is a specific question for their species. Since we are discussing Smedley Center design, our input is not welcome.

The other exo ambassadors are also reading com messages. Ambassador Johnson reluctantly yields, and I am recognized. I stand, shakily.

"I have evidence to... well, a report that... well... the Feyar have declared war on the Ratihinaconaxemuwezo!" I sag back onto my perch.

A beat of incomprehension followed by incredulity. Then bedlam.

The Delitrian Ambassador raises his hand and is recognized. He rises majestically. "I just received an update... the Feyar have been joined in their declaration by a "confederation" of other Aquatic species... not sure who these are just yet, probably developing even as we speak..."

"But... isn't it true that the Aquatics cannot leave their own planets? How could they wage a war on another planet?" the Ambassador from New LA bursts in, not waiting for protocol.

Ambassador Lalonde from New Toronto answers: "Drones! Or some other automated system the Xx devise for them!"

The room whirls to glare at the Xx in their mobile petri dish. Kevin moves to read any message they might be spelling out. "We are unable to supply information on ANY orders we have contracted for a planetary Government," he reads.

The room explodes. The Lunars will need to discuss this privately among themselves. The exos adjourn to our unofficial capitol in the basement of the Uralian... no... the Botslean Embassy.

***

"Should we ally with the Ratihinaconaxemuwezo?" asks the Junior Polaran Ambassador.

"Seems pointless," asserts the Senior Polaran. "Like gnats joining to "help" a condor in its hunt."

The Polarans seem to have been studying Earth zoology - I know "gnats" - they exist on Luna - but I have to quickly look up "condor" on the com. No, it seems a condor would not be materially aided by helpful gnats.

"But it might be viewed positively by the Ratihinaconaxemuwezo - we want to stay on their good side," suggests a Junior Gilgot.

"Especially when they are in a warlike mood to begin with..." agrees the Junior Polaran.

Ambassador G'vorlyanik of Delitri weighs in. "We really need to know what the Aquatics' issues are. Why they have declared war. They asserted persecution, yet did not provide specifics: who, what when..."

"Obviously the most likely "who" would be the Ratihinaconaxemuwezo," says the Senior Polaran.

"We still don't know the "what" or the "when." I think we need more information before we take sides. What if we agree with the Feyar?"

"We'd better not..." asserts the Senior Polaran, "not if WE want to survive..."

Ambassador Heresh, Senior Ambassador of the Gilgot moves a front foot slightly, and the room is instantly silent. He is the most respected of the exo Ambassadors on Luna - even more than Ambassador G'vorlyanik. After all, Ambassador Heresh could (and might) EAT you, while Ambassador G'vorlyanik seems harmless... although boring to listen to at times.

"Our Governments will issue statements through our Galactic Government Representatives. This decision, fortunately, does not rest with us. I personally believe our planets should remain strictly neutral unless personally attacked. If we remain united in our neutrality, I believe the Ratihinaconaxemuwezo and the Feyar will NOT take offense and will respect our position."

"Unless we find the Aquatics actually HAVE been persecuted," Ambassador G'vorlyanik amends.

"Does ANYONE have ANY idea what the Feyar are referring to?" Yaeyeia asks.

No one says anything.

The meeting adjourns dispiritedly. No one even suggests ordering from the FastFood.

Uralia...Botslean... in this situation, they are NOT identical. The Ratihinaconaxemuwezo have a contract with our company to mine in the Uralian system. While our corporation is called "Botslean," it is not the Government of our species OR the new planet we are migrating to. Very likely the Uralian system and the Botslean Corporation would be seen as de facto allies of the Ratihinaconaxemuwezo, possibly de jure allies due to our legal contract. I wonder if the Uralian system will be under attack again, since the Ratihinaconaxemuwezo are mining Lia2? Will the Feyar stop there? Will they attack the Botslean planet even as the first new settlers are arriving?

***

The next day I comcall my friend Grtscb, our Botslean Corp. representative on Ratihinaconaxemuwezo. She tells me the planet is already under siege by Feyar fighter drones. No one can leave the planet due to the network of drones in orbit. Luckily Ratihinaconaxemuwezo is self-sufficient (other than their need for Uralian chemicals to stabilize their atmosphere. They have a good supply presently and won't need a further delivery for quite awhile - for years, possibly. They can wait out a siege.

And, they are negotiating with the Xx for delivery of anti-orbital-drone drones.

I would think it must be a moral nightmare to be the Xx - supplying weapons for both sides of a war. But they view it as strictly transactional: each side specifies their needs and pays for the products. There is no morality involved. Unless, of course, the Xx themselves would be attacked. (Which seems unlikely to happen...)

My com hums. It is Dnhns calling to tell me that all of the Uralian/Botslean population transports have been moved outside the Uralian system, just to be safe in case the Feyar attack the Ratihinaconaxemuwezo mining operation. This is unsettling; the transports were intended to stay near the Uralian settlements until it was certain that no one was being affected adversely by the increasing gravitation. Additional emergency transports are accompanying the population transports in case anyone needs to be taken back to Uralia quickly, like Dnhns herself was recently.

My kids call (en route to Botslean) to tell me they have heard about the new "complication" to our lives. They are confident that the Feyar are not interested in Uralians or our new planet even though Uralia has been an ally of Ratihinaconaxemuwezo. They are confident; I am hopeful... not confident...

***

A week passes. The Feyar fighter drones orbiting Ratihinaconaxemuwezo have been joined by unmanned Feyar destroyers which have begun attacks on the surface, presumably seeking to destroy Ratihinaconaxemuwezo cities and infrastructure.

So far Ratihinaconaxemuwezo defenses are holding. Much of their construction traditionally has been underground to preserve the unspoiled natural landscape on the surface. The Feyar seem not to have taken this into account - perhaps the Feyar did not know about this feature of Ratihinaconaxemuwezo culture. They seem to have ordered surface weapons rather than penetrator weapons.

The Xx would say: "You get what you order... not necessarily what you need..."

I assume the Feyar are amending their order... that will cost extra... but the Feyar can afford it: they get royalties on every com sold in the Galaxy that uses their quantum entanglement technology.

Once again the exos are meeting in our unofficial headquarters in the basement. We are still somewhat demoralized, but several questions have been clarified since our last meeting a week ago.

The Feyar have been joined in their war by most of the Aquatics. Even the Qrad, initially cautious, have finally announced a sort of weak alignment with the Feyar.

There are a few holdouts: the Wrvsh continue to lead the Galactic Government and have declared themselves to be neutral in this conflict. The Kalad, sellers of fine wine, feel it is in their best financial interest to remain available to their customers (most of whom are Surface-species) and have also declared themselves to be neutral. The Yrvr have not declared their alliance with the Feyar but also have not declared official neutrality. The Yrvr are always unpredictable: living to be over 1000 years old, they see the universe through a long-range lens.

So far the Feyar are letting these three species get away with this breach of Aquatic solidarity.

It is unclear at this time how the Aquatics allied to the Feyar will be helping their war effort. Maybe just by cheering them on? The Feyar hardly need financial assistance. And, so far, they are receiving all the technical assistance they might need from the Xx.

The Feyar, who cannot leave their planetary ocean environments to travel the galaxy, are fighting their war using fighter drones and unmanned destroyers supplied by the Xx. Apparently this war was being planned by the Feyar for quite some time. As Aquatics have never before had a war with another planet, the weapons were designed uniquely for a situation where the warring species themselves were located underwater, far from the weapons delivered in orbit to their planet. The warriors control the weapons from deep under their ocean, send them to targets on other planets - so far (thankfully!) only Ratihinaconaxemuwezo. Such unique, revolutionary weapons would have taken some time to design and construct.

And now they are in place and being used against Ratihinaconaxemuwezo!

But, how could you damage the Aquatics anyway? Because the Aquatics, for the most part, live deep under their planetary oceans, they cannot themselves be attacked. Extreme fluid drag, pressure, and the physics of fluid dynamics make this a very challenging environment for weapons design.

Torpedoes, mines, and depth charges are the traditional weapons used against underwater ships. The coral-like Shysh could be attacked this way. For Aquatic species like the Eevn that are city-dwellers, these could be used to damage/destroy their cities. But, the Feyar do not live in cities. They do not build houses to live in or to work in. They just live in certain general areas of their oceans. To win a war against such a species, you would have to find a way to make those areas unpleasant, dangerous, or deadly to the inhabitants.

Special underwater drones would be required to reach and damage their deepwater settlements. The Ratihinaconaxemuwezo are negotiating with the Xx to create these weapons. Since there has never been a war against an Aquatic species, the technology is all new and will take some time to develop.

Blasters don't work underwater. Old-fashioned pellet-shooters? They lose power quickly in water, generally within only two to eight feet.

Spearguns and dartguns could be used to harm/kill individuals. Probably at some time in their history Aquatics had wars among themselves, tried to kill each other. Of course, they wouldn't be sharing those technologies with Surface-species enemies. And any weapons we did invent would have to be used by underwater drones because Surface-species cannot survive at the depths Aquatics live. And our underwater drone technology is not good in the very deep waters where the Feyar live - the drones tend to go "squash" below about 3000 feet while the Feyar live near the ocean floor, about 30,000-40,000 feet deep.

Poison? Make the chemistry of their oceans deadly to the Feyar? Make their environment unfit to support their species forever?

Everything the Galactic Government stands for would find that repulsive.

What is war when you can't kill the enemy but they can kill you?

Is defense all you can do?

Is there no offense against the Feyar?

And, maybe, your enemy is someone you don't REALLY want to kill?

HOW TERRIBLE IS IT TO BE EVEN THINKING ABOUT KILLING MEMBERS OF A SPECIES THAT HAS LED THE GALACTIC GOVERNMENT FOR DECADES, THAT INVENTED COM TECHNOLOGY, THAT WE HAVE ALWAYS RESPECTED AND HONORED???

How terrible to be afraid of them!

How terrible to be so confused by their actions!

How terrible that we cannot rely on them anymore!

How terrible that we have no idea why they are doing this!

No wonder we are all dispirited.

No wonder FastFood cannot help.

When our meeting ends and the other exos retreat dejectedly, I go upstairs and hug Kitty. She hates to be hugged, but understands that sometimes I just need this therapy. She patiently endures it.

"Be glad you're a cat," I tell her. "Cats are too wise to go to war. You have to be a SAPIENT to do something this stupid."